Dealing with setbacks and disappointment

February 26, 2006|TIM O'BRIEN Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service

"You get what you get and don't get upset," said my grandson's cartoon DVD. When I first heard this line in the story, I thought, "That's good. However, it is of no real value to the children." I was wrong. Later in the day, several times, both of my grandsons, 3 and 5, repeated it. "You get what you get and don't get upset." Both said it to themselves and to each other. They used it in situations that normally would have caused, what our family calls "a meltdown." Not these times. Both boys used the short affirmation correctly. I added one line to the phrase for them. "You get what you get and don't be upset. And, learn to accept and be happy with it." It was a suggestion to the boys to make happiness a habit. So, how do you react, respond and deal with setbacks, frustration and disappointment?